Etruscan Wall Painting

For centuries, artists, archaeologists, scholars, and poets have been captivated by the beautiful images found on the painted walls of Etruscan tombs. These paintings offer an extraordinary look at the earliest examples of monumental painting in ancient Italy (a corpus that has not survived in the Greek world). In quantity, only the Roman paintings of Pompeii are comparable. The striking images shed much light on the fascinating world of the Etruscans and provide us with intimate details regarding daily life, funerary ritual, and the murky world of the afterlife. The earliest tomb paintings date to the early 7th century bce and are found in Cerveteri and Veii, but it was Tarquinia that would take the lead in tomb painting from the 6th century bce onward. Inland centers like Chiusi, Orvieto, and Sarteano also produced tomb paintings offering their own style and subject matter in the world of Etruscan wall painting. Thus, this article is organized first by general treatments, articles, catalogues, and bibliographies, then by city, since different regions in Etruria produced paintings based on their own economic and artistic development. Etruscan wall painting offers one of the most colorful and intimate entrances into the life and afterlife of the Etruscans.